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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24816649">Haunted House of Ember Island</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeofnyan/pseuds/hopeofnyan'>hopeofnyan</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Ember Island (Avatar), Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gaang (Avatar), Gaang (Avatar) as Family, Gen, Humor, Minor Sokka/Suki, Mischief, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Spooky</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:41:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,075</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24816649</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeofnyan/pseuds/hopeofnyan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>On Ember Island were numerous houses. Some were labeled as beach houses; others were called vacation houses. There was only one house, though, that held the unique title of haunted house. Somehow, a rumor has spread among the inhabitants of Ember Island that the largest house there that has been abandoned for years is haunted. Rather than waiting for people to show up looking for signs of it being haunted, Sokka devises a plan that will entice people to arrive and experience the full force of spookiness the GAang has to offer.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka &amp; The Gaang (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Sokka's Idea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/CariPR94/gifts">CariPR94</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The idea behind this was created by Caripr94 on Tumblr! She gave me permission to use it to write this story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="MyStyle">On Ember Island were numerous houses. Some were labeled as beach houses; others were called vacation houses. There was only one house, though, that held the unique title of haunted house.</p><p class="MyStyle">Sokka saw this as both a bad and good thing. “Yeah, it’s bad that people will probably come here for dares and stuff. But it’s good because there will also be people who are scared and won’t want to come at all!”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Sokka, it would be better if <em>no one</em> thought this was a haunted house because if they didn’t, it wouldn’t get any attention at all!” Katara snapped.</p><p class="MyStyle">“But think of the fun we can have with this…reputation!”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Yeah, we can pound all the people who are stupid enough to poke around,” Toph added, smacking a fist into her palm.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Toph, we are supposed to be laying low. If people catch you earthbending our cover will be blown,” Katara pointed out. She wished Toph could see the stink eye she was giving the girl.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Who said they would catch me?”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Relax, Katara! We’ll have fun with this,” Sokka insisted, nudging her a bit.</p><p class="MyStyle">Katara shot him a death glare in return and her brother backed away.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Yeah, Sugar Queen. Relax. You’re just a bundle of nerves compared to everyone else,” Toph very unhelpfully mentioned.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Well, you know what Toph? If you and Sokka want to blow our cover and put our whole mission and Aang in jeopardy, be my guest!” the waterbender snapped.</p><p class="MyStyle">Sokka stared at his sister as she stormed away, fists clenched. If she were a firebender, she likely would have smoke puffing out of her ears. Honestly, could she not loosen up at all? Aang was keeping up with his training just fine. Everyone else practiced their own skillsets. They would not be facing the Fire Lord for weeks yet. Katara definitely was making a much bigger deal out of a <em>potential</em> mishap than necessary. It occurred to Sokka that perhaps he should ask Suki to talk to his sister – they were both girls and close in age, so they would be able to sort out Katara’s feelings and Sokka would not feel like a horrible brother for not being able to help his sister relax. Everything would be perfect!</p><p class="MyStyle">“Hey Toph, do you know where Suki is? I think she might be able to help Katara out with her…” Sokka gestured wildly in the air, having forgotten Toph was blind yet again. “…you know, <em>issues</em>.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“I don’t know where she is, but I doubt <em>anyone</em> can help Katara relax. It’s in her nature to worry about every possible thing that could go wrong and there’s nothing we can do about it,” his earthbending friend informed him. “However, there <em>is</em> something that <em>we</em> can do about potential intruders! This is going to be great.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Yeah, you’re right! Hey, I got an idea about making the house seem haunted, but first we need to find Aang. He’s a big part of it.” Sokka bit the side of his lip. Ignoring Katara was easy, but he still wished she could join in on the fun. Besides, she was better at waterbending than Aang, and he needed waterbending for part of the plan. “I’m still going to find Suki though. Even if nothing comes of it, I think it would be better to at least try to have her talk to Katara.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Your decision, Sokka. I’m gonna find Aang. Meet us on the porch after you’ve finished talking to Suki,” Toph responded.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Will do.”</p><p class="MyStyle"> </p><p class="MyStyle">Seeking out Suki ended up being easy. Sokka took pride in the fact that he was getting to know her better. Despite having made their relationship solid, they had only spent a few months of time together and he wanted her to know how much she meant to him. Though it did not appear at the forefront of his thoughts, Sokka knew in the back of his mind that they might not survive the impending battle and had made it his mission to make the most of his time with Suki, Katara, and his friends.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Hey Sokka! Want to join me?” Suki called, interrupting his thoughts.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Um, yeah, I’d really like to but maybe later? I was wondering if you would do something for me. Not that it has to be now, but like, soon,” Sokka mumbled.</p><p class="MyStyle">“What is it? Is something wrong?” The warrior halted her stretching and stood in front of Sokka.</p><p class="MyStyle">“It’s Katara,” he explained. “I’m really worried about her and don’t know what to say to make her feel better. She’s <em>really</em> high-strung right now, even for her. There was this plan I had and wanted to include everyone, but Katara won’t do it and I don’t want her to be left out,” he explained. A moment passed. “Also I kind of need her for it.”</p><p class="MyStyle">A frown creased over Suki’s face. “What do you want me to say to her?”</p><p class="MyStyle">“I don’t know! You’re a girl, you’re close to her age…I was hoping you would know.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Normally I would find that kind of offensive, but since it’s for your sister, I will try.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“It wasn’t supposed to be insulting. I genuinely think you understand her better than I do.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“I’ll do my best.” Suki pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. “Promise to fill me in on “the plan” later?”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Of course!”</p><p class="MyStyle"> </p><p class="MyStyle">It turned out that Zuko had been invited to the meeting on the porch. This saved Sokka time; he had been mentally devising an idea that would involve him anyway. He supposed that if Katara persisted in refusing to join in, Aang would be able to do the waterbending part as well, albeit not as effective since he needed airbend too. Sokka cleared his throat after taking a seat on the top step.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Alright, Team Avatar, are you ready to here what’s going on?” he asked in an upbeat tone.</p><p class="MyStyle">A chorus of “sures” was given.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Right. So, apparently people think this house is haunted. While that will scare some people away, it will inevitably attract others. So, instead of waiting for random strangers to turn up at random times, we are going to spread rumors of something happening tonight. We’ll be prepared and our performance will scare them away permanently,” Sokka began confidently.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Hold up, are you sure this is a good idea? What if they just keep coming back?” Aang queried.</p><p class="MyStyle">“We’ll just have to thoroughly terrify them so much that they’ll convince everyone else that it is just too dangerous to come here.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Alright, alright, what’s the plan, Snoozles?” Toph cut in impatiently.</p><p class="MyStyle">It took Sokka about fifteen minutes to cover each and every detail of his plan. Ten more minutes of him answering questions and assuaging concerns continued afterwards. To his surprise, Zuko was quite agreeable and even thought that the plan was practical. Sokka resolved to figure out a way to persuade the cranky firebender to live in the moment for at least tonight. Even if he was not as bad as Katara, Zuko <em>was</em> a serious person and Sokka was determined to make sure he enjoyed at least one evening before becoming Fire Lord or dying in the near future.</p><p class="MyStyle">“This is going to be fun! I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like this before,” Aang exclaimed after they reconfirmed all the details. “Even the monks never came up with making a place seem haunted before.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Uncle once told me the Air Nomads had a great sense of humor. Do you think they would have liked this?” Zuko inquired.</p><p class="MyStyle">The airbender looked thoughtful before replying. “Yes. I think some of them would have, especially Monk Gyatso. He’s the one who introduced the pie-throwing contests to me.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“We should do that later on,” Sokka suggested.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Hmph, at least you can make pies,” Toph grumbled.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Don’t worry Toph, I’ll teach you!” Aang assured her.</p><p class="MyStyle">“You can do that later. You have firebending practice to finish, and I’m sure Katara and Toph will want to work with you on your waterbending and earthbending too,” Zuko told him with a firm expression.</p><p class="MyStyle">“I didn’t mean right now anyway. But we can’t firebend for the whole day! We need to help set stuff up for tonight,” Aang protested with a pout.</p><p class="MyStyle">“You can do that later. I’m sure they’ll manage for a few hours.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Sokka, don’t you think –”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Don’t look at me. You need to be ready for the Fire Lord.” Sokka crossed his arms. “Just because we’re doing this tonight doesn’t mean we’re throwing away your practice. Besides, we’ll be practicing our own stuff too after this is done.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Yeah, don’t think you’re getting out of earthbending, Twinkle Toes,” Toph added.</p><p class="MyStyle">Aang dramatically sighed. “Fine.”</p><p class="MyStyle">A few moments of quiet elapsed before two figures appeared in the doorway behind them.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Hey guys, what did we miss?” Suki asked cheerfully, Katara at her side.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do…”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Tale of Five Terrified Kids</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This point of view is of the victims of Sokka's sinister plot. Shenanigans and horrors plague the foolish invaders of the Haunted House of Ember Island.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>All members of the GAang are featured! See if you can figure out who does what.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ruon-Jian had been insufferable for the past month. Ever since he helped his friend, Chan, throw a party that was trashed by four random people (served them right for going behind Chan’s parents’ backs), the two boys had both been grounded. Zika was sick of her older brother griping about how Chan had ratted him out to their parents for being complicit in hosting a party consisting of a few friends, some acquaintances, and several <em>complete strangers</em>. If they were going to do something rebellious, they could have at least been smart about it. Zika had resolved to do something that would annoy her older brother to no end – be rebellious without getting caught. She was not sure how to convince him she did it without him ratting her out, but Zika would figure that out later.</p>
<p>As Zika, her brother, and her parents were served lunch, she had listened to them make small talk with little interest. After several minutes of being ignored, Zika snuck away to the kitchen to look for dessert. Sometimes the cook would save snacks and sweets for her. During this visit to the kitchen, he had informed Zika that dessert was still baking in the oven and she was welcome to wait on her special stool. It had not been fashioned for her, but every time Zika sat in the kitchen, she always claimed the same seat and the staff silently decided to always leave it vacated for her. Few words were exchanged between her and any of the staff aside from the cook, but no one minded her presence. Even when the servants conversed about trivial nothings, Zika found their chatter oddly comforting and entertaining. But today, their discussion delivered an opportunity to her on a silver platter.</p>
<p>Apparently a disparate group of kids had been spreading rumors about Ember Island’s haunted house that was the subject of many ghost stories shared in the company of friends and dusk. Tonight, the moon would be on the last quarter of its cycle, only half visible. According to the kids, at every quarter when the moon was half cloaked and half exposed, spirits would reveal themselves in the haunted house to whoever was brave or foolish enough to enter the place. It was unclear who the spirits were, however – different members of the group had spread different rumors. The most popular ones, the servants recounted, were that the spirits were actually mythical creatures that had departed the mortal realm and were visiting from the spirit world to see how their former home had changed; the other story was that the spirits were ones of ancestors of the royal family and the people that had been murdered by them. Zika was inclined to believe that neither were true, but it was still a chance to prove that she could travel to the forbidden house and back home without being caught by either her parents or supposed specters.</p>
<p>After managing to gather a few friends on short notice for a brief assembly, they and Zika had cobbled together a plan to meet up after dark and explore the haunted house. The rest of the afternoon and evening had been spent taunting Ruon-Jian with mysterious sidelong glances and smirks, much to his aggravation. For all his extra four years, Zika’s brother still was so easy to rile up after being grounded because of her. It was tempting to flaunt her plan to him, but she still had not figured out how she could prove that she had gone without him ratting her out. For now, though, the twelve-year-old girl needed to reach the meeting place early since she was the one who had invited her friends on this adventure. <em>She</em> had been smart to only invite people <em>she actually knew</em>, unlike her dumb brother and his friend.</p>
<p>Waiting at the ash banana tree grove was not an exciting event. Zika tried to explore the copse and got thorns stuck all over her feet, pants, and sandals. The rest of her waiting time was spent plucking out the thorns and wincing when they pricked her. By the time the first member of the group arrived, she had only succeeded in ridding herself of half of the barbs. Hien did her best to help and chattered about her new pet bearded cat. Five minutes later, when Delun arrived, almost all of the thorns were gone. Ten minutes passed, and the three adolescents decided that their other friends were taking too long or not coming and that it was time to go.</p>
<p>“Are you sure this is the right way? It’s pretty dark,” Delun remarked as he followed Zika.</p>
<p>“We can’t firebend – it would be too easy for someone to spot us. As long as we stay on the beach and walk this way, we’ll run into it eventually.”</p>
<p>“I thought it was on a hill.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, but we’ll see it if we keep going! And if we keep talking, someone will hear us and we’ll be caught,” Zika retorted.</p>
<p>“Okay, okay…”</p>
<p>Nigh an hour passed before the three friends finally found the path that led up to the house. Hien and Delun had nearly turned back. Zika felt a wave of relief wash over her upon finding the path; she did not want her friends to wimp out on this. Though she would never admit it aloud, Zika was quite apprehensive on breaking into a house, even if it was abandoned.</p>
<p>As the trio hiked up the path to where the house rested at the hill’s crest, faint whispering drifted in the breeze. The kids convinced themselves they were hearing things, but then the distinct sound of girlish giggling rang out as a sudden gust of wind rushed past them.</p>
<p>“May-maybe there are oth-other people he-here,” Hien stammered as they huddled closer together.</p>
<p>“Probably,” Zika replied with far more confidence than she felt. “There were rumors spread across town.”</p>
<p>“Let’s just keep going. We’ll run into them if there <em>are</em> other people here,” Delun whispered. “I mean, where else would that…giggle come from?”</p>
<p>“What if the stories are true?” Hien gasped.</p>
<p>“There’s no way they are,” Zika insisted, voice wavering. “Let’s just keep going like Delun said.”</p>
<p>It seemed to take a century just to reach the nearest entrance; Zika desired to just hurry there before there was a chance for anything else to spook them, but Hien dragged her feet fearfully and Delun had no problem copying her. So far the only other odd thing that had occurred was him tripping over what he swore felt like a rock, but looking back, nothing was there. Zika informed the boy that he was just a klutz.</p>
<p>A large wooden door loomed before them, already ajar and creaking. Strangely enough, fog was drifting out from behind it. Suddenly, something inside must have shattered based on the boisterous sound it made.</p>
<p>“Watch it, Mizo!”</p>
<p>“You pushed me!”</p>
<p>“No I didn’t!”</p>
<p>Zika tentatively placed her hand on the door’s edge and pulled it forward a bit, wincing at how noisily it creaked. A flame suddenly illuminated the entryway, revealing a boy about the three friends’ age and a girl who seemed to be on the cusp of adulthood. There was no way the giggle came from either one of them.</p>
<p>“Who are you?” the girl asked in a threatening tone of voice as a wisp of fire hovered over her palm.</p>
<p>“We’re just exploring,” Zika blurted.</p>
<p>“We wanted to see if the house was really haunted,” Delun added.</p>
<p>The girl peered around them searchingly. “Did anyone come with you or follow you?”</p>
<p>“No,” they chorused.</p>
<p>“Do you want to join us?” Hien inquired tremulously. “It’s better to stick together, right?”</p>
<p>“No,” the girl said at the same time as the boy said “yes”. They glared at each other and jumped as a sudden wind rushed past them.</p>
<p>“Come on, there’s no harm in joining up,” the boy pleaded. “They’re probably more fun than you anyway.” His companion glared before finally relenting with a huff. “My name is Mizo, and this is my sister, Ishana,” he imparted with a grin. “What are yours?”</p>
<p>“I’m Zika, and this is Delun and Hien,” Zika replied, pointing at them respectively. They gave little waves.</p>
<p>“Whatever, let’s just go,” Ishana sighed, rolling her eyes.</p>
<p>As the trio stepped inside, a whizzing sound was heard just as something was audibly sliced. The door violently slammed shut behind them. Hien screamed as her friends yelped. Both Ishana and Mizo’s eyes widened in shock.</p>
<p>“What was that?” Hien exclaimed, darting towards the flame the oldest of them was maintaining.</p>
<p>Ishana ignored her and stepped towards the wall to the right of the door and glanced down. She knelt and held up something that the other four gathered around her to view.</p>
<p>“There was rope tacked on the top of the door,” she explained. “That’s why it was hanging open when we got here.”</p>
<p>“Oh, we thought you guys opened it,” Delun stated.</p>
<p>Mizo moved around them to investigate the wall himself, walking alongside it a few paces. “Hey, look at this!” he called, gesturing at something lodged in a groove in the wall. His sister shifted her hand that held the flame so that it shined on the spot Mizo was pointing at. The object was shaped oddly – it was not a knife, it was…</p>
<p>“A boomerang,” Zika said as she gazed at it curiously.</p>
<p>“Ugh, I knew it! Someone is just pranking us,” Ishana grumbled.</p>
<p>“But what about the fog?” Hien questioned.</p>
<p>“Maybe there’s some kind of machine that makes it.”</p>
<p>“What about the wind?”</p>
<p>“A giant fan!”</p>
<p>“<em>Guys!</em>” Zika shrieked, pointing towards the room connected to the entryway.</p>
<p>A thing – no, a <em>person</em> – was standing in the ingress, illuminated in multicolored lights that seemed to have no source. A shredded white shirt hung off of his gangly limbs as blood dribbled from what appeared to be a giant gash on his chest, as well as one on his cheek. Wild hair drooped limply around his face. His hand was fastened around a dark, wickedly sharp sword. The group darted back, some tripping over each other and scrambling up. A bellowing noise blared, startling the already-spooked people. Hien ducked and covered her head, Zika and Delun took fighting stances, and Mizo clung to his sister’s arm as she attempted to shrug him off. The colorful light winked out, suspending the room in total darkness. A cool, damp sensation swept through the air, rising all the way to the ceiling. This time, Ishana was joined by Delun in bending flames to light up the room. They flickered in and out as mist doused the fire despite trying to reignite the flames. Zika tried to do so too after recovering her wits, failing just as they had. Suddenly, yet another gust of wind swept through the area and a final bellow resounded. The vapor vanished and the three benders’ flames glowed in unison. All of them instinctively turned to face the bloody swordsman, but he had vanished.</p>
<p>“Okay, enough is enough. Come out, whoever you are!” Ishana snarled furiously.</p>
<p>The same whispering that Delun, Hien, and Zika had heard earlier once again was heard, though this time it was much louder and was accompanied by a stronger breeze. A dark silhouette appeared in the next room, halting just long enough to be seen before floating out of view. Zika thought its feet had been hovering above the ground, but she told herself that her disoriented depth of perception was to blame.</p>
<p>“Ishana, wait!” Mizo yelled, but halted his steps at the room’s entrance and did not follow his sister.</p>
<p>“Come on, let’s go!” Zika urged. A tug on her arm stalled her movement.</p>
<p>“Zika, I really don’t want to keep going,” Hien mumbled, staring at her feet.</p>
<p>“But…” her friend trailed off, not wanting to hurt her feelings but also desiring to continue her exploration. “Alright.”</p>
<p>“What if we waited outside together?” Delun offered. “That way Zika can keep on looking through the house and we won’t completely leave her.”</p>
<p>The frightened girl bit her lip before nodding in assent. Delun awkwardly patted her shoulder and Zika hugged her briefly.</p>
<p>“I’ll be back before you know it,” she assured her friends.</p>
<p>“We’ll wait thirty minutes,” Delun informed her. “After that, I’m going to assume you’re in trouble.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” she responded.</p>
<p>“Hey, are you coming or what?” Mizo asked annoyedly.</p>
<p>Zika sighed and turned to join him as the other two hurried out of the room. Cautiously, the duo crept in the next room and peered around it. Thin slivers of moonlight filtered in the house through gaps in curtains. Mizo abruptly strode towards the nearest window and yanked open the curtains before Zika could react. A jolt of fear propelled her to his side and she poked him fiercely.</p>
<p>“Don’t go moving things around!”</p>
<p>“Why not? No one lives here anymore and I doubt whoever <em>is</em> here will care,” he postulated.</p>
<p>With a sigh, Zika turned and began pacing across the room, eyes roving over it to see if anything that indicated spirit world-creatures or a haunting was present. Some dark stains trailed through it to the adjoining hallway, most likely from the bloody guy from earlier. Mizo joined her and began following the trail. A distant shout of “<em>Coward!</em>” accompanied by a thump alerted them how close Ishana was. Her brother began hastening his pace as Zika jogged to catch up, bumping into him in the dark.</p>
<p>“Sorry!” she apologized.</p>
<p>“It’s fine.”</p>
<p>The hallway seemed to lead to several different rooms, but the pair followed the thumps in the hopes of finding Ashana. Before they reached her location, however, a flash of light shone on a face that materialized seemingly out of thin air in front of them. It was white with crimson streaks over its eyes, accentuated with curving black lines. Another blanket of fog surged throughout the hallway and both kids screamed and stumbled back, landing on the floor in a tangle of limbs. And then the red marks on the face swiftly began running down over the white and the face’s eyes before the light was extinguished. Something screeched and the flapping of wings emanated from overhead. Zika scrambled to her feet and rapidly bent a flame, grateful that the mist stayed near the floor. The hall was empty and the house lay silent.</p>
<p>“Mizo,” Zika squeaked, “I don’t think there are any spirit animals here. Let’s find your sister and get out.” She offered a him a hand.</p>
<p>“Y-yeah,” he stuttered, letting her aid in pulling him up from the floor.</p>
<p>Both Mizo and Zika quivered as they hastily scurried through the corridor, unsure where they were going even with the fiery light. It flickered weakly and would randomly burst before shrinking again. Zika’s firebending was not advanced enough to be controlled in stressful situations, and the one she was in now was immensely stressful. When the scent of smoke became overwhelming from its haphazard spurts, she snuffed it out and allowed the darkness to swallow them again.</p>
<p>“Can you bend?” she queried.</p>
<p>“No,” her companion replied simply. “Let’s try searching the rooms. Ishana has to be around here somewhere.”</p>
<p>“Okay.”</p>
<p>They felt along the wall to the nearest doorway and stepped in it easily since the door was open. Mizo moved to the window with the intent to slide the curtains aside when a gale blasted through the room and shoved him forward, not enough to trip, but enough to unnerve him.</p>
<p>“Maybe not this room,” he declared and managed to find Zika’s shoulder and haul her with him to the hallway.</p>
<p>Mizo and Zika flinched when a horde of tiny pebbles rained from the ceiling.</p>
<p>“What the –”</p>
<p>“In here!” the boy admonished, yanking the handle of the door he had discovered. It refused to budge. “No, no, no! The door is locked!”</p>
<p>“Just keep going!”</p>
<p>The floor wobbled beneath them, sending the duo faltering to the other side of the corridor. Zika grasped her companion’s arm and set her hand on the wall and staggered forward until a final heave sent both of them tumbling into an open chamber. The ground had mercifully stilled and the window was uncovered, revealing Ishana crouched over something and focused on it. She spared her brother and Zika a glance before returning her attention to her previous task.</p>
<p>“What happened?” Mizo asked, voice hushed.</p>
<p>“The bloody guy disappeared and so did the other person,” she answered shortly.</p>
<p>“Are you hurt?” Zika questioned.</p>
<p>“No. Are you?”</p>
<p>“We’re alright, but –”</p>
<p>“Kind of busy here,” Ishana interrupted.</p>
<p>Mizo and Zika approached from either side to see what she was rifling through. An opened chest filled with assorted objects was in front of her. Half a lock could be seen from the lid, though Zika noticed that it was busted. She gazed at the chest’s contents inquisitively. It was challenging to see with Ishana’s hands moving around, but Zika managed to confirm that there were papers, broken jewelry, a rusty knife, and a strange ornament inside. Upon reaching the bottom of the container, Ishana snatched the papers up and turned so that what little moonlight was available would gleam on the material.</p>
<p>“You can firebend, right?” Ishana asked Zika. She barely nodded before the older girl continued, “Hold a flame up.”</p>
<p>“I ca-, um, my firebending isn’t that great. I could hold the papers for you and you could hold a flame up though,” she stammered.</p>
<p>The papers were shoved at her and Ishana bent a small flame before nudging Zika to see what was written on them. Mizo watched from her other side, though he did not try to shove her around.</p>
<p>“Could you read it? I can’t really see,” he expounded.</p>
<p>“Sure,” Zika replied, eagerly scanning the material. “Whoa, this is a…a list. An, Asmara, Bao, Dung, Fuyen…they’re names. Some are crossed out.”</p>
<p>“What does that mean?”</p>
<p>“Maybe they’re people the royal family owed money to?” she speculated.</p>
<p>“Or people they’ve killed,” Ishana muttered darkly.</p>
<p>“Look at the next page! Maybe it explains the list,” Mizo suggested.</p>
<p>Zika shifted the papers and began reading the next one. “The top says Ancestry. Then it’s a list of the same names, but there are weapons written beside them. And…colors…and foods.”</p>
<p>“So, a list of things they will be susceptible to?”</p>
<p>“Look at the next page,” Ishana demanded.</p>
<p>Zika shot her an irritated look before shuffling to the next page. “It’s a drawing of…a monkey?”</p>
<p>“That’s a map to something.”</p>
<p>“No, idiot, it’s a building!”</p>
<p>“Hey! Who knows what it is? Does it matter?” Zika interrupted.</p>
<p>“Well…yes,” Mizo said uncertainly.</p>
<p>“Not really,” Ishana contradicted. “Not right now, at least. We should just take it and leave.”</p>
<p>“Wha – no! We trespassed here; we don’t need to commit anymore crimes tonight,” Zika protested.</p>
<p>“Hey guys, look at this,” Mizo chimed in, holding the ornament up to the light.</p>
<p>It was stone in the shape of a heart. A pointy line was struck through the middle, and little fractures were speckled around where it intercepted the heart. Two tiny characters were carved at the bottom right of it.</p>
<p>“Well that’s morbid,” Ishana remarked.</p>
<p>“Maybe we should leave,” Zika proposed.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Mizo agreed. “I think we’ve looked around here enough.”</p>
<p>The trio were suddenly tossed across the room by a force that originated from the ground and gritty rocks rained from the ceiling again.</p>
<p>“Let’s get out of here!” Zika cried as they struggled to their feet.</p>
<p>“Wait for me, I’m getting the chest,” Ishana commanded and dashed back towards it.</p>
<p>“Ishana, no! Look at what’s on the heart,” Mizo hollered.</p>
<p>“I don’t ca –”</p>
<p>“It has the characters for ‘death knell’ on it! If we take the chest, we could die!”</p>
<p>A reiteration of vibrating ground and terrifying bellows convinced Mizo to knock the chest from Ishana’s hand and he proceeded by yanking her with him and Zika into the corridor. Ishana attempted to snatch her arm away, but the floor began shaking in earnest and he used the momentum to pull her with him. Zika suddenly halted dead in her tracks when another girlish giggle was heard, this time emanating from a significantly closer distance. Mizo bumped into her and Zika unfroze, sprinting forward as her companions’ footsteps followed closely. She froze again in the large room where Mizo had opened a curtain as a white sheet, moonlight radiating behind it, manifested in front of her. The trio barely shuffled away from it when the sheet dropped, revealing a sight more horrifying than anything they had seen the whole time.</p>
<p>A short, slight girl stood in front of them. Ebony, shaggy hair hung around her and stood up in places in the back. She was clothed in a white tunic and loose pants, part the shirt torn and exposing her shoulder. A metallic arrow stood vertically on top of her head; her thick hair stuck to parts of it with a sticky substance. Blood lazily trickled down her forehead and her nose as she smiled widely. Zika noted that she was clutching an uncanny copy of the stone heart from the chest. Perhaps Mizo had dropped it. A hushed murmur came from her direction; Zika could scarcely make out the words 'melon' and 'lord'.</p>
<p>Ishana managed to find her footing first and spun around, moving her arms deliberately and a plume of fire emerged, aimed at the small girl. It disappeared nearly as soon as it formed. Growling, she performed another form and, once again, her flames vanished.</p>
<p>“What the – <em>ah!</em>” she yelped, stepping back hurriedly.</p>
<p>The same boy they had seen earlier emerged behind the girl, sword pointed towards them. A silhouette with no face crept beside him as the person with the white face and black lines and bloody eyes joined them too. Just as Zika thought it was impossible for things to get worse, a glimmering, huge, transparent blade appeared overhead. All three intruders drew in breaths and held them. Then Ishana shoved both her brother and Zika towards the entry room, trying to follow and sliding on something slippery and landing on her back with a loud thud.</p>
<p>“Ishana!” Mizo cried, heading back to help his fallen sister.</p>
<p>“Mizo, get out of here!” she barked, rolling to her side with a grimace.</p>
<p>Zika tailed Mizo and they both pulled her up despite her protests. A glimpse behind them revealed the menacing figures and transparent weapon proceeding slowly towards them. Supporting Ishana, the three of them raced to the door just as Delun nearly ran into them.</p>
<p>“Go, go, go!” Zika clamored.</p>
<p>A bout of vapor headed towards them, giving Zika a sense of foreboding as they left. It was awkward, trying to hurry with Ishana leaning on her and Mizo, but they managed to be quick. By the time all five of them had exited the path leading up the hill and reached the beach, Ishana wheezed for them to stop. The fog and gruesome creatures had not followed them and it was safe enough for her to sit down. Her brother and companions joined her, panting and wheezing.</p>
<p>“That was…”</p>
<p>“Horrifying.”</p>
<p>“Scary.”</p>
<p>“Not fun.”</p>
<p>“Fascinating.” The four younger people all swiveled their heads to look at Ishana. “I mean, I’ll probably never go back there during a quarter moon, but there were some interesting things I want to find out about.”</p>
<p>“No,” Mizo said flatly. “If you try to go back, I’ll tell Dad. I don’t care if I get in trouble. You could die. We all nearly died.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know, none of them actually attacked us,” Zika pointed out.</p>
<p>“Well, maybe that was just their warning,” he persisted. “If anyone returns, they would probably retaliate more. They just were trying to scare us away at first but returning will provoke them.”</p>
<p>“Who is ‘them’?” Delun inquired.</p>
<p>“These…people that were in there,” Zika expounded. “Three of them had blood on them – there was a little girl, the man you saw with us, this dark silhouette person, and someone with a super white face with blood running down it.”</p>
<p>“And there was this weird spear that looked like it was made out of magic,” Mizo added. “And a bunch of roaring, and the ground shook, and pebbles fell from the ceiling.”</p>
<p>“We heard the roaring,” Hien mentioned. “It was really loud.”</p>
<p>“I still think people were pulling a prank,” Ishana contended. “They may have dabbled in spirit stuff, but they still were just trying to get a rise out of whoever was stupid enough to invade the house.”</p>
<p>“Ishana, <em>we</em> invaded it. So did you,” Mizo stated.</p>
<p>“Yeah, and I was stupid to try. I still want to go back anyway.” The older girl shrugged.</p>
<p>Several seconds of silence followed before Hien suggested, “I think we should go home. I don’t want my parents to find out I was out tonight, and I doubt any of you do either.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, we should,” Zika acquiesced. “But it would be nice for all of us to meet up again.”</p>
<p>“Let’s meet at the ash banana grove again,” Delun proposed. “You guys know where it is, right?”</p>
<p>Mizo nodded. “I’ll be there at noon. Ishana needs to stay in bed though, or at least see a doctor.”</p>
<p>Ishana rolled her eyes but did not contest his statement.</p>
<p>“Well, that’s settled. And we’re never going back to that insane house again!” Zika declared as she stood up. “Let’s go home.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Me? Finally updating a month and a half later? More likely than you think.<br/>Life has been quite demanding lately. I do intend to finish this though. There is one more chapter left! Feel free to let me know what you think. (:</p>
<p>Addition: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iloverayllumanddragons26"> Iloverayllumanddragons26 </a> has inspired me to include Melon Lord-Toph in this. Toph was a bit preoccupied with her role already, but she did manage to have a certain person spookily whisper her alternate identity in the presence of her and the intruders.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A National Holiday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A conclusion of friendly, romantically, and sisterly affection and a unanimous decision.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="MyStyle">By the time the moon had begun noticeably waning past its quarter, the gang of the Avatar’s friends had repeated their charade six times. The first time was exciting and fun. The second time was not as exciting, but still fun. The third time was mildly annoying. The fourth, fifth, and sixth times were aggravating to everyone except Aang. Even Sokka, the mastermind of the plan, had grown weary of reenacting it so often. Everyone had to move all their belongings into two rooms that stayed locked since the other rooms were used for what was dubbed ‘spooky exhibits’ by Sokka.</p><p class="MyStyle">On two occasions, people had surprised them by sneaking up in the daytime. After that, everyone was tentative to go anywhere aside from their designated rooms and the bathroom; Aang, Sokka, and Toph, however, did not see it fit to wash if they were just going to get dirty hours later. Aang was not even dressed up but still took the excuse that if Sokka and Toph did not have to, then why should he?</p><p class="MyStyle">Meals had been reduced to leftovers and whatever fruit could be picked during ‘safe’ hours of the day. Katara felt too apprehensive to use the kitchen when it was a potential spot for intruders to explore, and Suki was the only other person who really knew much about cooking and she shared Katara’s opinion. Zuko attempted to make jook – the only thing he had picked up from his uncle’s cooking abilities during their time together in the Earth Kingdom – and got distracted by constantly looking over his shoulder and the mixture of meager vegetables, rice, and water became a large, burnt lump flavored with smoke. He was banned from cooking for the duration of ‘Operation Haunted-Spooky-House’.</p><p class="MyStyle">Appa was unenthusiastic the whole time. Convincing him to bellow at precise moments was a challenge that involved much pampering, hay, and coaxing; it also meant at least one member of the group had to be away from the action for at least part of the time if not all of it. The bison also did not appreciate being constantly covered with blankets of moss and hidden away. Momo was easier to bribe, however, and to hide. Aang often tried to get him and Appa to spend time together while he visited his distraught bison. There were two times one of group would take him for a ride at night to cast an eerie shadow over the house. That ended when one of the nosey explorers shot flames upwards at him.</p><p class="MyStyle">Finally, a week and a half later, Katara and Suki decided visited the nearby town to find out whether they had permanently scared people away. They said everyone else either smelled bad or did not know how to be discrete.</p><p class="MyStyle">“I’m good at being discrete!” Sokka squawked agitatedly.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Sokka, you yell “sneak attack” every time you try to sneak up on someone,” Katara pointed out.</p><p class="MyStyle">“And even if you <em>were</em> discrete, your smell would give you away,” Suki added.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Hey now, I’ve taken a bath.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“<em>A</em> bath. In ten days. One, <em>single</em> bath,” Katara deadpanned, raising an eyebrow.</p><p class="MyStyle">“C’mon, in the boys’ room, everything smells the same. It’s not a big deal.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Even Toph smells better than you.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Sokka, just trust us to check, okay? We’ll be back before you know it,” Suki soothed, placing her hand on his face. She managed to hold back a grimace at how greasy it felt.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Fine,” Sokka relented. “But if you guys are gone for more than one hour, I’m going looking for you.”</p><p class="MyStyle">As the girls began heading towards the tree line, Katara felt compelled to remind Sokka of what he was missing all because he would not clean himself up.</p><p class="MyStyle">“You just don’t want us to go shopping without you,” she teased, giggling at his indignant expression.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Do you think he’ll have taken a bath or at least gone for a swim by the time we come back?” Suki asked.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Probably. If he thinks there’s a chance of this haunted stuff ending and he can escape living in a smelly room with two other boys, he will. Since you guys came back from the prison, he <em>has</em> been making more of an effort. Being stuck in a small room with two other guys probably made him feel like it wasn’t worth it. And Aang and Toph were egging him on,” Katara explained.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Did Sokka ever…is it normal for Sokka to come up with stuff like this?” her companion wondered.</p><p class="MyStyle">The younger girl contemplated her answer for a minute before saying, “Sokka has always been the guy with a plan, but he’s never made one like this. And honestly, since the invasion failed, he’s barely made <em>any</em> kind of plan for anything. Zuko told me that when they went to the Boiling Rock, Sokka had no plan of escape. So even if this has been exhausting and exasperating…I guess I’m glad we did it if it means Sokka regains some of his confidence.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Hopefully he’ll regain all of it eventually.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Hopefully.”</p><p class="MyStyle"> </p><p class="MyStyle">Something had finally gone right for them. After subtly listening to several townspeople converse, both the vacationers and shop owners and servants alike, Katara and Suki had come to the conclusion that the plan had worked better than they had hoped. With the wish to cheer Sokka up, the girls used the small amount of money they had brought with them to purchase a small sack of spicy buns for him. By the time they had made it halfway home, they met him on the forest trail they had taken to avoid any followers.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Where have you guys been? I thought someone abducted you or you got eaten or –”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Sokka, we’re fine,” Katara sighed.</p><p class="MyStyle">“And we got you something to celebrate,” Suki said cheerily, holding up the sack. “Apparently your plan worked. Everyone is either too scared or uninterested to come to the house!”</p><p class="MyStyle">Sokka paused in opening the sack. “You mean…it really worked?”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Yeah, Sokka,” his sister confirmed. “You were right this time.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Sorry, could you repeat that? I thought I heard you say that I was <em>right</em>!” He bestowed a superior look at Katara. “If you say it again, I’ll let you have a spicy bun.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Who says I haven’t had one already?”</p><p class="MyStyle">“<em>You touched my food</em>?”</p><p class="MyStyle">“She’s just kidding. We had some noodles earlier,” Suki told him.</p><p class="MyStyle">“Noodles?”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Hey Sokka, if we start heading back to the house, we can get everyone and have noodles together,” Katara said, gently pushing him forward a little. “Well, after you all clean yourselves.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“I think Sokka actually did that himself,” Suki mentioned, pecking him on the cheek as they began trekking to the house. “His cheek isn’t greasy anymore.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Why didn’t you say it was greasy earlier?”</p><p class="MyStyle"> </p><p class="MyStyle">The group decided it would be callous to eat out without Zuko, who did not feel comfortable visiting town when he was so recognizable. Sokka was sent back with Suki, who promised to keep him from spending all their money on fanciful weapons, to purchase food. Katara was relieved to find that Zuko had kept up his hygiene like she and Suki had. The feeling evaporated as soon as Aang and Toph were in a moderate proximity to her and she herded Toph to the girls’ washroom, sending Aang a <em>look</em> that had him rushing to the other one. Only thirty brief minutes of relaxation passed before her brother and her friend returned with ingredients for Katara to chop and fry and mix. To her surprise, both him, Suki, and Zuko volunteered to help.</p><p class="MyStyle">“You know, Sokka, this was another good idea,” Katara remarked gratefully. “Maybe you should come up with them more often.”</p><p class="MyStyle">“Speaking of which, I have another idea!” Sokka proclaimed with a grin. “We should do something like this once every year and Zuko can make it a national holiday after we win.”</p><p class="MyStyle">A chorus of three voices screeched, “<em>No</em>!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This chapter was odd to write, but I did want to show what the spooky endeavor was like and a conclusion from the Gaang's point of view. Feel free to let me know what you think and/or point out any typos!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>How was this chapter? I was going to make it a one shot, but thought it deserved two or three chapters instead. I did not plan on writing from Sokka's perspective, but it just happened and I went with the flow.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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